VAGCOM CABLES ? where to buy?

I only have USB connection on my new laptop and want to get into Vagcoming my own car. Seen the ones on e-bay but not sure which ones are the good ones.


Thanks for the info

why not get one right from http://www.ross-tech.com ?


-Jason

too much $

Monkey1 said:

too much $

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I bought one of those E Bay USB cables and it didn't work.To add insult to injury,the seller wouldn't reply to any of my e mails looking for tech support,or a refund.(I won my PayPal fraud case against this guy)
(WARNING! Don't buy anything from E Bay seller'Teknologix')
I coughed up the dough for the Ross Tech cable just a few weeks ago and it has already paid for itself as I was able to fix my Passat's leaky injection pump,and set the timing on my New Beetle.
Don't waste your time with the crap selling on E Bay.

Got to Pay to Play

Monkey1 said:

too much $

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Just buy the OEM and be done with it. Read the many "EBay cable" stories and you'll most likely decide not to "F" with the generic/aftermarket ones. Think about who spec.'ed out the OEM cable.....Ross-Tech . - Sloppy Snood

i've had no issues with my third party cable, bought it from a guy who made it no issues at all

I had an aftermarket cable for vag-com for my last tdi. Wish I hadn't of sold it. I think it was like $40 or so, and it worked perfectly. The ross tech cables appear to be a total ripoff.

I have an aftermarket cable that works fine but it is a serial cable. I haven't heard of many aftermarket USB cables that work successfully. You could try alpha-bid on ebay. He will take it back if it doesn't work.

The ross tech cables appear to be a total ripoff.

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Depends what you're looking for. If you want the latest software, upgrades to future versions, and full support for your system from the moment you receive it, you buy a Ross-Tech interface.

Please bear in mind that Ross-Tech develops the VAG-COM software to begin with. Without that, there would be no aftermarket interfaces.

-Uwe-

Never do I cease to be amazed... Buy the Ross-Tech. Without them, you wouldn't have any software to run on your cheap cable...

>>The ross tech cables appear to be a total ripoff.<<

Somehow I doubt that the fine folks at Ross-Tech are going to threaten Bill Gates' position on the Forbes "Richest Man" list...

There are many factors that come into play when one tries to come up with a price for one's product. Given what has gone into the development of the software and the relatively small potential market, I'd say that the price, although high, is eminently fair. That doesn't mean that everyone can afford to own one, but... Quark Express and Adobe Photoshop aren't cheap, either, and the potential market is many times that of Vag-Com...

The fact that Ross-Tech even makes available an older, shareware version of the software should highlight their commitment to their customers - present and future !!

Yuri.

DieselSmoker said:

I had an aftermarket cable for vag-com for my last tdi. Wish I hadn't of sold it. I think it was like $40 or so, and it worked perfectly. The ross tech cables appear to be a total ripoff.

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Yeah, those Ross Tech people are shady. I mean, aside from the high quality cables that a proven record of working... being able to use the latest full version of VAG COM with thier cables... tech support they offer over the phone (what phone number came with your cheap cable?)... hanging out in the various forums (like this) and helping people solve issues ... what have the Romans ever done for us?!

Sheesh, Buy the real thing.
How come folks are so cheap nowadays?
How come this thread comes back every month?
If you have an A-5 you need USB CAN-BUS, cheap knock offs of THIS model don't work.
Ross-tech is a bargain!
Bill

40X40 said:

Ross-tech is a bargain!
Bill

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I second that. I would have paid $1000 for VAG-COM with no regrets. I personally can't believe they sell it so cheap.

40X40 said:

Sheesh, Buy the real thing.
How come folks are so cheap nowadays?
How come this thread comes back every month?
If you have an A-5 you need USB CAN-BUS, cheap knock offs of THIS model don't work.
Ross-tech is a bargain!
Bill

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Last time I checked this wasn't a high roller Mercedes Benz forum so cost has always been an issue. Also, his profile indicates he doesn't own an A5.

Regarding a lower cost A5 product.... About a month ago, IIRC, I was copied a Ross-Tech email stating they are working on a less expensive HEX-CAN version so there must be a need out there. Its suppose to be available in the Spring which means any day now.

Kabin,
Thank you for sharing that in such a timely manner.

I think this section of the forums is overly clogged with 'I'm too cheap
to pay full price, how can I get the best for nothing' posts.
I have never driven a mercedes, I've always been a body on frame
ford guy until I bought this A5 tdi. (Still have the ford!)
The OP stated he needed USB, the knock-off usb cables have been
problematic. If you get a CAN-USB cable I think you are set up for
present and future car purchases.

How about a sticky so we don't have to have this repeated every
other week.

I am happy with my vag-com purchase. I hope you are too!

Bill

less expensive HEX-CAN version

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We have some "whisper down the lane effect" here. We are indeed working on a less expensive CAN interface for the Mk.5 cars. But it won't be a "HEX", and it won't be backwards compatible with older cars. It will be USB only (no serial version). Planned introduction "in the spring" is still correct, but spring just started. At the moment it looks like June, but don't consider that an iron-clad promise.

-Uwe-

Ebay cable nightmare or OBD II port problem?

mparker326 said:

I have an aftermarket cable that works fine but it is a serial cable. I haven't heard of many aftermarket USB cables that work successfully. You could try alpha-bid on ebay. He will take it back if it doesn't work.

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Hi folks,

I just bought one of those e-bay cables (from Alpha-Bid) and I just saw they claim to be fully compatible with VAG-COM. So I tried to connect to my B4's ECU and the VAG-COM software said the car doesn't support OBD II standard.

Before that the cable was not recognized by VAG-COM, so the guy from Alpha-bid sent me the "pseudo" USB driver to make it work. It is kind of USB emulation since the cable only is recognized by VAG-COM if tested in 'COM3' serial and not in USB option.

Any suggestion....

Mparker326 please give me a help on this... or I would be returning this piece of metal and buy a Ro$$-Tech cable.


Help please !!

Maybe Uwe should jsut stop offering the old version of vag-com and go after anyone who offers it on the net. it must be nice for all these companys to be making money on someone elses software. maybe everyone should start looking at it as buying software that comes with some free hardware. Personally having worked with both ross-techs software and electronics I can tell you they are very well built with excellent support.

Turbo Diesel-x said:

So I tried to connect to my B4's ECU and the VAG-COM software said the car doesn't support OBD II standard.

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Older VAG-COM versions (up to 409) only use the OBD-II button on the main screen for generic OBD-II tests, this has nothing to with that fact if VAG-COM would work with that car. Try accessing control modules individually with using the "SELECT" button instead.

Turbo Diesel-x said:

Before that the cable was not recognized by VAG-COM, so the guy from Alpha-bid sent me the "pseudo" USB driver to make it work. It is kind of USB emulation since the cable only is recognized by VAG-COM if tested in 'COM3' serial and not in USB option.

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You are right, this is a USB<>RS232 emulation, no real USB. All 3rd party interfaces work like this, so this is another problem with them since this emulation messes up the timing and leads to unstable/unreliable connections.

Turbo Diesel-x said:

...or I would be returning this piece of metal and buy a Ro$$-Tech cable.

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You should at least contact the seller for support since it's their stuff you are using and they "should" know how it works. FWIW, most of the 3rd party sellers just get their stuff in a big box from China and re-pack it without even testing and/or knowing what it does and how to support it.

Turbo Diesel-x said:

Mparker326 please give me a help on this... or I would be returning this piece of metal and buy a Ro$$-Tech cable.


Help please !!

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I already told you I use a serial cable not a psuedo usb. I told you to try it and if it doesn't work get your money back. Either use a serial cable or send it back.

BrentB said:

Maybe Uwe should jsut stop offering the old version of vag-com and go after anyone who offers it on the net. it must be nice for all these companys to be making money on someone elses software. maybe everyone should start looking at it as buying software that comes with some free hardware.

Click to expand...

You don't think Ross-Tech makes money from this? Do you understand shareware? It is a tease to get you to buy the real version.

Try actually connecting to the ECU in your car... a 96 might not be OBDII compliant.

-Jason

Is it better to just get a 3rd party serial cable that is 409.1 compatible instead of a usb 3rd party one, will doing this avoid the USB<>RS232 driver emulation issues?

Thanks

simbolo said:

Is it better to just get a 3rd party serial cable that is 409.1 compatible instead of a usb 3rd party one, will doing this avoid the USB<>RS232 driver emulation issues?

Thanks

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Yes. You just have to make sure that your laptop has a serial port. Newer ones don't.

You may also consider getting a real Ross-Tech USB interface, might be a bit more expensive but it will definitly work with newer notebooks and once you used one you never want to give it away again.

I dont think I would want to use a loptop in the garage that does not have a serial interface. This would mean its a nice laptop and i dont really want to be touching a $1500 laptop with greasy, dirty hands

Vag Com

I don't have vag com yet as my vehilcles are still under warranty.

That being said, when they are out of warranty I'd only buy the ross tech cable, not because of the upgrades or support they give, which is nice, partly because they are the software producers and should be supported for that reason, but more importantly because I'd rather not take a chance on inferior 3rd party cables with the expensive electronics in our cars. There can be a lot of technology/engineering in a cable not just integrated serial # for the software serial #, correct wiring and quality control, but also having to dealing with resistance, interelectrode capacitance etc... If something was to go wrong with the Ross Tech equipment your covered. If I bought a EBay cable connected it up and did damage ( probably a rare occurance ), I'd never stop cursing myself for being an idiot. And the Ebay supplier would say sorry your on your own !! Save money in other areas not so critical like supermarket specials, cheap nite at the movies or rent a movie even.......

At least the Ebay cable that I bought from another VW person had diode protection, nevermind the diode was reversed... Still doesn't work... Get the Serial version, then look on ebay for a cheap toshiba toughbook (under $200)... Windows 98.. then stick on the 311 version. try the 409 version. If it doesn't work, then too bad... they don't have much warranty.

VAGCOM CABLES ? where to buy?

Why didnt buy from Alibaba instead spend lot of money ?

http://uiftech.en.alibaba.com/offerdetail/53414748/Sell_VAG_Tacho_USB.html

Another great post by Graphco...

...the answer to your question is easy. The people here are honest and intelligent enough to buy real products and not some asian rip-offs like you suggest them.

> Running with the latest version 1.5 of VAG Tacho (do not use 1.6)

Guess why?!